ELMONT, N.Y. – There is a significant level of respect for California Chrome among rival trainers whose horses will try to deny him the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, but that didn’t stop 10 horses from being entered Wednesday against him, setting the stage for California Chrome to clear yet another hurdle on his glorious, improbable journey.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association of Ontario announced Tuesday that it will submit a plan to the Ontario Racing Commission to ban race-day medication in the province.

If implemented, the plan would prevent veterinarians from entering a horse’s stall on the day it is entered to race. However, the administration of the anti-bleeding medication Lasix still would be permitted.

Racing fans at Belmont Park looking for a keepsake of California Chrome’s bid for a Triple Crown can visit a special green-screen photo booth on the first-floor grandstand, near the winner’s circle, Saturday to promote the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. Fans can support the retirement, retraining, and adoption of former racehorses across North America with a $10 contribution and have their picture superimposed onto a racing photograph of California Chrome.

ELMONT, N.Y. – The last two times a Triple Crown was on the line in the Belmont Stakes, Nick Zito played the role of spoiler by winning with Birdstone in 2004 and Da’ Tara in 2008.

The Hall of Fame trainer won’t be involved Saturday when California Chrome tries to become the 12th Triple Crown winner, but he is as interested as anyone in what happens. And he has one piece of wisdom to impart.

“When Big Sandy looks down on you,” said Zito, “you’ve got to beat him. That last quarter-mile is what tells all.”

In the winter of 1885-86, the Brooklyn Jockey Club was incorporated and soon thereafter purchased the Prospect Park Fair Grounds, which had primarily hosted trotting races during the previous two decades.

The track and stands were quickly rebuilt, and the club’s inaugural meeting opened Aug. 26, 1886. The track was renamed the Gravesend Course – the bay of the same name located two miles to the west.

Becoming a major player overnight, Gravesend the following year offered a lucrative stakes program topped by the $2,500-added Brooklyn Handicap (which grossed $7,350).

ELMONT, N.Y. – To look at Alan Sherman now, it’s hard to imagine that he once was a jockey. He’s got a nice little paunch, but with a solid, medium build that makes him resemble a former fullback more than a former rider.

Sherman rode for just three years, from 1986-89. He likes to joke that he “ate my way out of that job,” but, in fact, it was more nature than nurture that was going to keep him from a lengthy career. Time was not on his side to be a jockey. He got his GED and left high school as a junior to ride.

Daily Racing Form has hired Eric Wing to the newly created role of advertising director. Wing will work with racetracks and wagering partners across the country and will be based at DRF's headquarters in New York.

William H. “Billy” Hicks, a longtime trainer on the mid-Atlantic circuit who was also the owner of Hicks Feed Company, died on May 31 at Parkview Nursing and Rehab Center in Greenville, Del., according to one of his sons, Billy Hicks Jr. Hicks was 78 and died of natural causes, his son said.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The pick six paid $85,734 to 16 ticketholders at Santa Anita on Friday after a two-day carryover of $407,077 from Monday led to an additional $1,805,800 going into the pool.

Friday’s pick six races had a formful start when favored Midnight Mayhem ($4.40) won the third race, the first leg of the bet. He was one of two winning favorites in the pick six.

The other winners in the sequence were Belonging ($10), Serious ($18.80), Hijra ($5.60), Sagebrush Queen ($13.60), and Navarre ($15.60). Hijra was also favored.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Two ticket-holders took home $186,490 apiece after correctly selecting the final six winners on Friday’s card at Belmont Park, sharing a pick-six pool that had not been hit Wednesday or Thursday, resulting in a carryover of $141,367. An additional $406,355 was bet into the pool on Friday.

The winning tickets were purchased at TVG and Lien Game Racing, an account-wagering site in North Dakota, according to the Belmont mutuels department.